Makers of infamous World of Warcraft bot Honorbuddy admit defeat

The infamous Honorbuddy bot plaguing World of Warcraft appears to have been beaten.

Blizzard didn't name Honorbuddy specifically but said, in a post on the WOW forum (via Gamespot), "We've recently taken action against a large number of World of Warcraft accounts that were found to be using third-party programs that automate gameplay, known as 'bots'."

On the Honorbuddy forum, however, there's a post by staff member Bossland that reads like an admission of defeat.

(Posted unedited)

"It seems like Honorbuddy was detected. We are not sure, but looking at the BAN THREADS, we think that its the most likely option atm.

"We are sorry for all your lost WOW Accounts, hopefully you can use them again after the 6 months ban is lifted. I have read here in the forums a bit, a lot of the accounts where 10 years old. This is a pity. We always say, do not use your valuable accounts as the risk is always there.

"With Honorbuddy you thought that we are unbeateable. We never thought that, we've succeeded since 2010 - Honorbuddy had not a single software detection. It seems there is one now.

"It also seems that Blizzard was really pissed at our first win at the court of appeals in Hamburg. It might have been coincidental. Nothing is for sure.

"You ask yourself what happens next? For now we closed our Honorbuddy Authentication, when we know any more details we will inform you."

Honorbuddy is a program that offers automated control of your WOW character, allowing people to leave their computer while their character harvests resources or even fights in battles to earn - or farm - reputation. It's a paid-for tool that the Honorbuddy website says has 200,000 registered accounts.

This apparent Honorbuddy detection strikes yet another blow in recent months against outlawed activity in World of Warcraft. There was the WOW Token that introduced a legitimate way for players to buy gold, and there was the paid level-90 character boost to skip all that levelling.

It means Blizzard is attacking from both sides, by undermining black market alternatives while simultaneously policing the methods that sustain it.

This is a video explaining how to set Honorbuddy up and then sit back as your character magically plays itself.